South Tampa Sam's Club to close as company announces nationwide closures

Several Sam's Club stores throughout the nation reportedly closed without notice.

Several Sam's Club stores throughout the nation reportedly closed without notice.

Several Sam's Club stores throughout the nation reportedly closed without notice.

Several Sam's Club stores throughout the nation reportedly closed without notice.

WFTS

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Several Sam's Club stores throughout the nation reportedly closed Thursday without notice to the public.

One club in South Tampa is among those shutting its doors. The location was closed Thursday, but a sign on the door said it would reopen Friday. Customer were stunned to find the doors locked.

"It's quite disturbing, I've been coming here for the past 20 years. This is like home," Aqeela Syed-Arth explained.

After reopening, the South Tampa location will remain open through January 26.

Sam's Club says about 150 employees will be affected at the South Dale Mabry location. The company is working with stores to transfer employees to other Sam's Club locations, Walmart or Neighborhood Markets.

The employees will receive 60 days pay and severance conversations would ensue after that.

Christopher Holloway, who works at the South Tampa store, said employees were told in a meeting Thursday at the store about the closure.

"Shock. There is a lot of process," explained Holloway. "Some of us employees were very upset because this is a company we rely on."

The company scrubbed several store locations off of their website Thursday. Walmart says the decision was based on financial performance.

The Twitter account for Sam's Club confirmed a "series of clubs" would be closing but did not report where the stores would close.

After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we’ve decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy. Closing clubs is never easy and we’re committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition.